diff --git a/make_release.sh b/make_release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..103e85f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/make_release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+if [ $# -ne 1 ]
+then
+  echo "Usage: `basename $0` release"
+  echo "where release is of the form v11, v12, ..."
+  exit 1
+fi
+version=$1
+
+#check for tag existence
+git describe release-$1 2>&1 >/dev/null ||
+{
+    echo "Invalid version $1"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+git archive --format=tar --prefix autojump_${version}/ release-${version} | gzip > autojump_${version}.tar.gz